The New Republic

Those of us who follow the career of Weekly Standard writer and ex-journalist Matthew Continetti have noticed that he enjoys parroting the line taken by his boss, Bill Kristol. For example, Kristol will go on television and mouth some Republican talking point, and then a couple of days later, Continetti will echo the sentiment. (An alternate theory is that they receive talking points from the same source). READ MORE >>

It’s a Nice Thought, but Can a Society Really Distribute Wealth Fairly? by Moshe Halbertal Every Christmas, We Get a Well-Made Film That’s Uplifting, Overlong, and Simple in Moral Vision. This Year, It’s Called ‘Invictus.’ by Christopher Orr READ MORE >>

It seems to me that one major political benefit of Obama giving a challenging speech about the war in Afghanistan--and discoursing on the nature of war in general--during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on Wednesday was that it derailed any focus on atomic arms. READ MORE >>

READ MORE >>

In case you missed it, once-and-maybe-future presidential candidate Mike Huckabee traveled to Calgary, Alberta, Canada the other day and delivered himself of an address (according to his own pre-speech account, reported in the local press) focused on the terrible temptation of conservatives in the United States to tolerate diverse points of view, under the shorthand of a "Big Tent." READ MORE >>

The jury may still be out, but this photograph of Michael Steele trading a terrorist fist jab with an RNC intern is certainly suggestive. For the love of God, Mike, he's only a child! Do you want him to grow up to be a suicide bomber? READ MORE >>

In a New York Times op-ed today largely in support of Obama's Afghanistan plan, Nate Fick of the Center for a New American Security writes: Progress depends on two political developments: inducing the administration of President Hamid Karzai to govern effectively, and persuading Pakistan that militant groups within its borders pose as great a threat to Islamabad as they do to Kabul. READ MORE >>

God, I miss the days when social conservatives sat around grumbling about how the true meaning of Christmas was being lost in a tacky, commercial wave of neon Santas and animatronic snowmen. Instead, the evolving culture wars have turned St. Nick into some kind of conservative hero--a roly-poly, fur-clad warrior for Good in the insidious "war against Christmas." As a result, one now encounters yard decor like the incongruous scene erected on a lawn not too far from my house: a fat, glittery Santa grinning wildly as he kneels low over Baby Jesus in his makeshift manger bed. READ MORE >>

The increasingly nutty columnist unearths a novel historical counterfactual: READ MORE >>

Though the story is set in South Africa, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus is a hybrid of classic American forms, the triumphant sports movie and the high-minded political film. There is much to like in the film, and a fair amount one might dislike as well, but in the end one’s overall feelings are likely depend on one’s enthusiasm for these genres in general and for their peculiar marriage in this instance. READ MORE >>